No qualified handicapped person shall, on the basis of handicap, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity that receives Federal financial assistance.

(a) A recipient, in providing any aid, benefit, or service, may not, directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements, on the basis of handicap:

(1) Deny a qualified handicapped person the opportunity to participate in or benefit from the aid, benefit, or service;

(2) Afford a qualified handicapped person an opportunity to participate in or benefit from the aid, benefit, or service that is not equal to that afforded others;

(3) Provide a qualified handicapped person with an aid, benefit, or service that is not as effective in affording equal opportunity to obtain the same result, to gain the same benefit, or to reach the same level of achievement as that provided to others;

(4) Provide different or separate aid, benefits, or services to handicapped persons or to any class of handicapped persons than is provided to others unless such action is necessary to provide qualified handicapped persons with aid, benefits, or services that are as effective as those provided to others;

(5) Aid or perpetuate discrimination against a qualified handicapped person by providing significant assistance to an agency, organization, or person that discriminates on the basis of handicap in providing any aid, benefit, or service to beneficiaries of the recipient's program or activity;

(6) Deny a qualified handicapped person the opportunity to participate as a member of planning or advisory boards; or

(7) Otherwise limit a qualified handicapped person in the enjoyment of any right, privilege, advantage, or opportunity enjoyed by others receiving the aid, benefit, or service.

(b) A recipient may not deny a qualified handicapped person the opportunity to participate in aid, benefits, or services that are not separate or different, despite the existence of permissibly separate or different aid, benefits, or services.

(c) A recipient may not, directly or through contractual or other arrangements, utilize criteria or methods of administration.

(1) that have the effect of subjecting qualified handicapped persons to discrimination on the basis of handicap,

(2) that have the purpose or effect of defeating or substantially impairing accomplishment of the objectives of the recipient's program or activity with respect to handicapped persons, or

(3) that perpetuate the discrimination of another recipient if both recipients are subject to common administrative control or are agencies of the same state.

(d) A recipient may not, in determining the site or location of a facility, make selections

(1) that have the effect of excluding handicapped persons from, denying them the benefits of, or otherwise subjecting them to discrimination under any program or activity that receives Federal financial assistance or

(2) that have the purpose or effect of defeating or substantially impairing the accomplishment of the objectives of the program or activity with respect to handicapped persons.

(e) The exclusion of nonhandicapped persons from aid, benefits, or services limited by Federal statute or executive order to handicapped persons or the exclusion of a specific class of handicapped persons from aid, benefits, or services limited by Federal statute or executive order to a different class of handicapped persons is not prohibited by this part.

(f) Recipients shall administer programs or activities in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of qualified handicapped persons.

(g) Recipients shall take appropriate steps to ensure that communications with their applicants, employees, and beneficiaries are available to persons with impaired vision and hearing.

(a) The following examples will illustrate the application of the foregoing provisions to some of the activities funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

(1) A publication or a museum catalogue supported by the Endowment may be made usable by the blind and the visually impaired through cassette tapes, records, discs, braille, readers and simultaneous publications.

(2) A lecture, meeting or symposium supported by Federal funds may be made available to deaf and hearing impaired persons through the use of a sign language interpreter or by providing scripts in advance of the performance.

(3) Specific aid, benefits, or services supported by Federal funds may be offered in an inaccessible facility provided that the same aid, benefit, or service is also offered to the public at large in an accessible space.

(4) A qualified handicapped person is one who is able to meet all requirements in spite of his handicap. An educational institution is not required to disregard the disabilities of handicapped individuals or to lower or to make substantial modifications of standards to accommodate a handicapped person.

(b) State humanities committees are obligated to develop methods of administering Federal funds so as to ensure that handicapped persons are not subjected to discrimination on the basis of handicap either by sub-grantees or by the manner in which the funds are distributed.

(c) In the event Endowment funds are utilized to construct, expand, alter, lease or rent a facility, the benefits of the program or activity provided in or through that facility must be conducted in accordance with these regulations, e.g., a museum receiving a grant to renovate an existing facility must assure that all museum aid, benefits, or services conducted in that facility are accessible to handicapped persons.

(d) In carrying out the mandate of section 504 and these implementing regulations recipients should administer Endowment assisted programs or activities in the most integrated setting appropriate, e.g., tours made available to the hearing impaired should be open to the public at large and everyone should be permitted to enjoy the benefits of a tactile experience in a museum.